HNZ00037131 OIA Response.pdf

20 March 2024
Simon Tegg
[FYI request #25594 email]
Tēnā koe Simon
Your request for official information, reference: HNZ00037131
Thank you for your email on 2 February 2024, asking Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora for the
following under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act):
The budget bid Improving access to primary healthcare services to transgender people is
now an operational programme of work managed by Health NZ.
In previous requests to the Ministry of Health (H2023019669) I discovered that the budget
bid contained errors and received an admission of regret from Deputy Director General
Maree Roberts.
https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Ffullyinformed.nz%2F
assets%2Ffiles%2FH2023019669.pdf&data=05%7C02%7Chnzoia%40health.govt.nz%7C8
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The errors were:
- The budget bid overstated the number of transgender people (i.e  the target population of
the programme) in New Zealand by a factor of ~10.
- The budget bid claimed that the primary care delivery of hormone therapy has the
potential to reduce the need for future genital surgeries (and thus save money). However
the citations for this claim did not support this.
The second claim was repeated multiple times throughout the budget bid and Treasury
subsequently gave the budget bid a rating of 4/5 for "value for money", 5/5 for "alignment" ,
and 4/5 for "delivery". [Treasury document
https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Ffullyinformed.nz%2F
assets%2Ffiles%2FDocuments%2520for%2520Release-
2.pdf&data=05%7C02%7Chnzoia%40health.govt.nz%7C82487ace82fd4cfb907908dc22fd
98ce%7C23cec7246d204bd19fe9dc4447edd1fa%7C0%7C0%7C638423719805378595%
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aWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=DLhfA4TZ5OQ7EKFAMZiwUVoRbs
FpbLJBiDlMV4HvFaU%3D&reserved=0]
The government has changed so it is unclear if the programme would be so aligned with
the current government's focus on economic efficiency and evidence.  It is also unclear if
Treasury would have given this bid a favorable "value for money" rating had Treasury
known of its errors, and whether the programme would have been subsequently funded.
I assume that the programme is supported by a governance and/or advisory group and/or
manager (hereafter "governance group") within Health NZ.
From Health NZ:

- I request the names of the members of the governance group, its working name,
establishment date, and purpose.
- I request confirmation that the governance group has been advised of errors in the budget
bid.
If confirmation can be provided, I request the content of that advice whether written or
recalled by officials.
From Health NZ and the Ministry of Health:
- I request confirmation that Treasury has been advised of errors in the budget bid.
- I request confirmation that the current Minister, Dr Shane Reti, has been advised of errors
in the budget bid.
If confirmation can be provided, I request the content of that advice whether written or
recalled by officials.
From Health NZ:
- I request the contract details, reporting schedules, evaluation frameworks and any reports
between Health NZ and the contractors regarding this programme.
- I request all other correspondence between Health NZ and contractors regarding this
programme.
Response
I request the names of the members of the governance group, its working name,
establishment date, and purpose.
The programme is overseen by the Gender-Affirming Primary Care Advisory Group (GAPCAG),
which was established 21 March 2023.
The GAPCAG supports Health NZ by providing high-quality strategic advice to ensure that the
programme meets Te Tiriti o Waitangi obligations and responsibilities, delivers equitable outcomes
for Māori and Pacific peoples, and provides high-quality gender-affirming primary care.
This advice is used by Health NZ to inform, improve, and support programme activities and policy.
Information has been withheld under the following sections of the Act:
• The details of some individuals are withheld under section 9(2)(a) of the Act in order to
protect their privacy. The need to protect the privacy of these individuals is not outweighed
by the public interest in the release of this information.
• Some information is withheld under section 9(2)(b)(ii) of the Act as, if released, it would be
likely to unreasonably prejudice the commercial position of the person who supplied or who
is the subject of the information.
• Some information has been withheld under section 9(2)(g)(ii) of the Act in order to maintain
the effective conduct of public affairs through the protection of Ministers, members of
organisations, officers, and employees from improper pressure or harassment.
I have considered the public interest in releasing the information. However, I do not
consider that this public interest outweighs the harm identified above. I note that this is the
third request asking for the names of individuals involved in this work. We are refusing this
information for privacy reasons as we have done in all three of these responses. Please
note that future requests for the same information may be refused on the basis that they
are not made in good faith.

I request confirmation that the governance group has been advised of errors in the budget
bid.
The GAPCAG has not been advised of the errors in the budget bid because the errors do not
substantively affect the purpose, objectives, or accountabilities of the project.
I request the
• contract details
• reporting schedules
• evaluation frameworks
• any reports between Health NZ and the contractors regarding this programme.
Information within scope of this request is itemised in Appendix 1 of this letter and copies of the
documents are enclosed. The table in Appendix 1 outlines the grounds under which I have
decided to withhold information. Where information is withheld under sections 9(2)(a), 9(2)(b)(ii)
and 9(2)(g)(ii) of the Act, I have considered the countervailing public interest in release in making
this decision and consider that it does not outweigh the need to withhold at this time.
Title
Provider
Reporting
Reporting documents
schedule
attached
Updating Guidelines
Professional
3 monthly reporting  -
PATHA Project Plan
for Gender-Affirming
Association for
22.11.2023
Care
Transgender
Health Aotearoa
Incorporated
(PATHA)
Auckland PHO
Auckland PHO
Quarterly reporting
-
Project Plan
Collective
Limited
in the first year, 6
-
Performance reporting
Community Driven
monthly in the
Model of Care
following years
Waitaha Canterbury
Pegasus Health
Quarterly reporting
-
Project Plan 2023 2024
Community Driven
(Charitable)
Model of Care
Limited
Qtopia Workforce
Q-topia
Quarterly reporting
-
Performance reporting
Development –
Incorporated
in the first year, 6
Jan 2024
Gender-Affirming
monthly in the
-
GAC Evaluation
Primary Care
following years
Framework
Gender-Affirming
Hemisphere
6 monthly reporting  -
Evaluation plan
Primary Care –
Insight
Evaluation of
Community Driven
Models
of Care
How to get in touch
If you have any questions, you can contact us at [Health New Zealand request email].

If you are not happy with this response, you have the right to make a complaint to the
Ombudsman. Information about how to do this is available at www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or
by phoning 0800 802 602.
As this information may be of interest to other members of the public, Health NZ may proactively
release a copy of this response on our website. All requester data, including your name and
contact details, will be removed prior to release.
Nāku iti noa, nā
Deborah Woodley
Director Starting Well
Commissioning
TeWhatuOra.govt.nz
Health NZ, PO Box 793,
Wellington 6140, New Zealand